Love At Every Turn
by CuriosityComplex
Summary: Prompt: Frankie starts hitting on Maura, not knowing that she has a secret affair with Jane. They still want to keep it a secret until Frankie brings the big guns in... - rizzles, and sorry about the dodgy title.


**PROMPT:** Frankie starts hitting on Maura, not knowing that she has a secret affair with Jane. They still want to keep it a secret until Frankie brings the big guns in... Hope you can think of something to write :) – _neonsa13_

 ** _PS : Sorry about the dodgy title._**

* * *

"So, you're saying that the guy was smothered and then dumped in the pool?" Jane asked, quite perplexed at who would go to all that effort.

"Yes and, not only that, I also found a small stone lodged in his throat. It appears to have a small hole with a clean finish," Maura said, holding out an enlarged photo of an opaque stone with a black colour.

"What kind of stone?"

"I'm not quite sure, so I have forwarded it on to the lab for further testing."

"Hm," Jane says glancing around, mind still clearly absorbed in the case. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go back up and see how Nina is doing with digital history of our man."

"Okay," she pauses, "I'll see you tonight at the Dirty Robber." She smiles, genuinely looking forward to the night out with friends (and Jane).

"What?" She glances up, snapping out of her thoughts momentarily. "Yeah, see you then." She is short with her farewell, though means nothing by it. She is in the middle of an investigation, and when she's got a train of thought going, she hates to lose it.

Maura nods with a slight smile before returning to her pending autopsy.

•••

Maura was sitting in the Division One café, sipping on her long black, her mind quite distant.

"Hey Maura," Frankie said happily.

"Hello Frankie, how are you today?" She said with a smile.

"Good, thanks, you?" His words sort of ran into each other.

"I am well, thank you," Her mannerism pleasant as usual. "Would you like a coffee?"

"Nah, I'm good. Actually came down here to talk to you." He's a little nervous, but Maura doesn't notice.

"Oh? What can I do for you?"

"Ah, you going to the Dirty Robber tonight?" His eyes shift from hers momentarily.

"Yes. I believe Jane, Vince and Nina will also be there." Always offering information.

"Right," he paused. "What time was that again?"

"7, I believe."

"Right," he repeated. "Is it possible to get there a bit earlier?"

"I suppose anything is possible in the right circumstances," she said clinically. "Oh," she caught on. "Yes, it is. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to run something by you," he tried to say casually.

"That sounds fine. What time did you have in mind?" She said with a smile.

"Maybe 6:30?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sure. I shall see you then." She smiled once again.

"Cool." His smile grew, though he attempted to hide it. "Seeya then." As he leaves, there is a slight hop to his step.

Maura doesn't notice though, already re-immersed in her own thoughts. She was certainly curious to know what Frankie has on his mind, as usually their conversations do not require the privacy that seemed to be in creation here. All the same, she assured herself that it's nothing too serious otherwise he would have mentioned it then. So instead, she focused on the afternoon's agenda and tries to enjoy the peace that comes with drinking her coffee. Soon she returned to her office to complete any of the remaining paperwork.

•••

Maura, always punctual, arrived at about 6:27pm, according to her watch. Walking into the bar though, she was surprised to see Frankie already there walking toward a booth in his way back from the bathroom. His face is a little red, and his hair is freshly slicked.

"Good evening Frankie, how are you?" She said quite chirpily.

"I'm good, Maur." He paused before continuing on. "Ah, you?"

"I am quite well, thank you, if a little tired." She smiled pleasantly.

"Long day?" He was relieved as the words left his mouth without having to think about it because he knew his mind was elsewhere.

"Not long, just a little busy," she smiled, almost as if it were a joke.

Frankie didn't really respond with anything another than a shrug of understanding.

"Is there something you wanted to discuss?" She asked politely.

"Yes," he hung his head a little. "Would you like to sit?" Trying to defer the conversation a little.

"Sure," she said gesturing towards a booth big enough to fit all of the anticipated guests. As they sat down, Maura began to realise that whatever the topic of this conversation, it was clearly important to Frankie.

"So, um, I've been thinking." He tried hard to maintain eye contact and show his confidence. "Would you like to go out with me?"

It didn't take long for Maura to decipher the intentions behind the question. "Oh," she paused.

Frankie began to freak out.

"No, no! It wasn't a bad oh." She apologises. "Frankie, you are one of the most amazing people in my life."

He knew where this was headed, but figured she deserved to voice her standing, so he let out a minute sigh and let her continue.

Maura was now the one that was flustered. She wasn't entirely sure how to word it so that it wasn't honest, respectful and a little bit deceptive. She too let out a sigh, but hers was more in slight frustration of the circumstances. "Can you keep a secret, Frankie?"

Now he was a little confused. The only thing that came to mind as a response to be asked out that involved a secret was that she was a man, but he doubted that. "Maur', of course. Look, whatever it is, I'm going to respect your wishes."

Maura took a deep breath in, "I'm… sort of seeing someone." She winced away fearing his response.

"What? Maur!" He said elated. "I mean look, I like you, and I mean I really like you, but you don't have to hide that from me. And I'm happy for you." His words seemed genuine. "Would I like to be him? Totally. But I get it." There was the Rizzoli joke, in order to deal with any bad situations. All the same, he was happy for Maura. He'd seen her go through too many terrible relationships and she deserved happiness.

She sighed with relief, and gave a thankful smile.

"Just…" he paused. "If it doesn't work out, would you give me a shot?" Now he was a little scared of what she might say.

She thought for a moment whether that was a possibility. Not so much about Frankie but about the person she was involved with. "Frankie," she said kindly and honestly, "I would be honoured to have a man like you alongside me." Immediately she got up and gestured for him to do the same. She gave him a hug. It was a little awkward, but it had genuine feeling behind it. She had no interest in losing someone like Frankie in her life.

Frankie smiled to himself over her shoulder as they hugged. He was really happy for Maura, at the same time though he was a little happy to know that he may still have a chance.

•••

Maura looked over to Jane who seemed quite enthralled by whatever was on the television. In all honesty, Maura hadn't been paying much attention. Whilst the night following her talk with Frankie was quite the usual, it wasn't really something that she'd ever given much thought to. She knew that there was always a possibility that she and Jane may not be in an intimate relationship, but by the same token there was also one where they were. It was also not too farfetched to think that perhaps their differences would eventually outweigh their commonalities. She wasn't actually thinking about Frankie at all anymore though. This was about her and Jane.

"What?" She said in a monotone voice, eyes fixed on the television.

A little startled, Maura's reaction was almost involuntary. "Nothing." She smiled, but they both knew it wasn't exactly genuine.

"Come on, Maur" she nudged. Turning her head to make eye contact, she said, "You've been sneaking glances since we got back. You haven't even pointed out that the guy who just got shot in the liver is holding the wrong part of his body." She raised a knowing eyebrow, hoping it would reassure her partner.

"You noticed?" Still a little shocked by both the confrontation and the fact that Jane had been paying so much attention.

"Of course. Now are you going to tell me what's up?" Her focus was now entirely on Maura, and she had no intention of changing that.

Maura smiled slightly before sighing a little. "A conversation was had today that has simply awoken a discomfort that I'm not entirely fond of, however it is also impossible to deny."

"Care to be a little less cryptic?" She very subtly rolled her eyes at Google embodied. Jane truly cared, but it wasn't easy when she had no idea what Maura was talking about at this point.

Maura pursed her lips a little before continuing. "At the Dirty Robber this evening, myself and Frankie arrived early, at his request, to discuss something that had been on his mind."

"God, what'd he do?" Hey typical sibling response blatant.

"No, nothing. I mean, he propositioned commencing a relationship with me." She paused, trying to find the right words.

Jane wasn't sure whether to laugh or be angry.

"I mentioned that I had been seeing someone…"

Jane's stomach clenched a little at this.

"I, of course, couldn't say who, but he then said that, were my relationship with this person ever to end, maybe I could give him a chance." Maura looked quite weary.

She relaxed a little but was still not sure what Maura was annoyed about. "Do you want me to tell him not to 'proposition' you?"

"No, Jane, it wasn't that." She paused, quite sullen. "It was the idea that perhaps you and I wouldn't be together in the future."

And immediately, she caught on. "Maur' look," she knew not to spin lies. "I don't know if we'll always be together. I mean, I'd really like to be. I love you, you know that. All I know is, I like this. I want to keep this. And I'm willing to do a whole lot to keep that." Jane smiled incredibly honestly.

Maura smiled. With just a few words, she felt whole again. Secure again.

•••

[a couple of weeks later]

Maura had just sat down to her paperwork when there was a knock at the door. Looking up from her desk, she was surprised to an unfamiliar man standing there with a bunch of roses. Maura's face became a mixture of elation, surprise and confusion.

"Dr. M Isles?" He said, completely unphased by her response.

"Y-Yes, that is me."

The man held out a digital tracking device. "Sign here," he instructed.

After signing the screen, he handed her the bouquet of flowers and left with nothing more than a polite smile.

Maura admired the flowers for a few moments before searching for a card or note. Opening a small envelope that was pinned to the cellophane, she was surprised to find typed a note that said, "Sorry I'm a little shy, I'm really not a creepy guy. Just wanted to show you that I'm hear and, if you're ever wanting, I'll be near." She smiled at the cheesy little pun, before trying to figure out who would have sent them. Although slightly suspicious given her position and her history with men, she didn't feel too nervous about this one. Something about it simply didn't set off any alarm bells.

She took a photo and messaged it to Jane.

 _I don't suppose this was you?_

 _Haha, Oh yeah. You know me too well._  
Jane smirked at her phone as she sent it.

 _Apparently not. It is certainly unexpected. Why did you refer to yourself as a 'guy'?_

 _What? Maur no. I didn't send you the flowers. Don't tell me you've got a secret admirer?  
_ She teased.

 _For lack of a more appropriate word, apparently I do._

 _Oh. My. God. You have to tell me all about it tonight!_

The doctor could practically see the mocking face Jane would have made when she sent that. _  
There's not really much to tell. It was only the flowers and a note._

 _Really Maura? You can't let me have any fun can you?_

Maura would usually be a playfully angry at a comment like this, but she was too busy being remarkably happy.

•••

"Really?" She said incredibly unimpressed. "That's what he wrote on the card?" She said holding out the little white piece of cardboard. "It's _so_ lame!" She mocked.

Maura pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes playfully. "You're just jealous." Take the higher path. "You wish you had a secret admirer."

"Oh yeah," she mocked as she rolled her eyes. "That's what I want. Some love-y dove-y crap. A man can buy me a pizza and listen to me bitch for a while… And then maybe, _just_ maybe," she emphasised, "could occasionally sleep with me, that'd be fine with me." She laughed.

Maur couldn't help but giggle a little as well. Quickly though her faced transformed into a devious smirk with a raised eyebrow when she figured out what to say next. "So, you're saying that you don't want me to show you my affection in other ways?" She moved closer to Jane who was currently at the opposite end of the lounge with her feet up. As she began to crawl on top of her she trailed her fingers up Jane's thighs and then onto her abdomen where tiny little hairs began to stand up in arousal. "Or when I let you watch as a I walk away after sex…" She continued to tease.

Done with games, Jane simply said, "oh shut up," before moving in for a kiss.

•••

Throughout the following month, Maura continued to receive little gifts. One was a chocolate bouquet. One, a moderately priced red wine. One was simply a hand written letter. The handwriting was legible but lacked a certain elegance and fluency…

 _Dear Maura,_

 _Sorry for being so secretive. I guess I haven't really known how to go about it.  
I have wanted to open up to you, but understand that the attention is not desired. So instead, I've been admiring from afar._

 _I love the time we spend together as friends, and can't really help wanting more._

 _I hope that one day, maybe you'll give me a chance._

 _Frankie_

As she read each line, she developed more of an idea as to whom the letter (and the gifts) were from. As she read that final word though, her heart nearly shattered.  
She wasn't entirely sure what she expected him to feel after their conversation, but I suppose it wasn't this. It did seem unreasonable and simply implausible to have thought though that his feelings for her would simply disappear.

She was happy with Jane. So happy with Jane. However, she certainly did not want to hurt Frankie in any way either.

She knew she had to tell Jane who it was, but she felt she had to talk to Frankie first.

She began typing the numbers into her keypad. As it rang she found herself getting more anxious as she really had no idea what to say or how to solve this. Was it even something that was to be 'solved'. Oh, how she preferred the dead. So much simpler.

"Rizzoli."

"Frankie, hello." She smiled but realised he couldn't actually see it.

"Oh hey Maur, what's up?" He asked casually.

"Nothing," she paused. "I simply hoped we could talk."

Immediately, Frankie knew exactly why she was calling. "Ah, this isn't a good time," he paused. "I am at work…" he tried to imply the rest.

"Oh, of course. Perhaps we could get a drink later?"

"Yeah, sure. Dirty Robber after work?"

"That would be fine. 6:30?" She asked.

"Sure. See you then." As Frankie hung up, he wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen either. He couldn't deny though, that he sort of did put himself in this situation. And Maura. He figured though, he couldn't really do anything about it at that moment, so instead he returned to work and tried to get through the day as normally as he could.

•••

"Hey Maura," he tried to say as if there wasn't a friendship on the brink.

"Frankie," she said calmly and clinically. "Please let me speak." Her eyes were honest.

Frankie just nodded politely, knowing she had every right to.

"I truly love you, Frankie, but as a friend. As a brother. As a member of my chosen family that I would hate to lose. And I do mean that honestly." Maura's face was scared. She was telling the truth and she didn't know, even after hypothesising the outcome of this conversation all afternoon. "As I previously mentioned though, I am currently with someone and, if I may be quite candid, I genuinely think that we could have a positive future together." She glanced up with large hazel eyes. She didn't want him to hurt. That was never the intention.

"Maur', you can stop." He smiled, ever so politely. There was a sincere kindness to his smile though. "I know. I mean, I don't know this guy, and I don't know you're relationship with him, but I shouldn't have sent you those things. I should have respected you and your choices, whatever they were, and then I should have supported you. Not pressured you," he corrected himself. "I was a jerk," he said with a certain frankness.

Maura wanted to interject, but he wouldn't have it.

"I was. I made a mistake… or a few, but I don't want to make the mistake of losing you… in any way. I want you in my life. And if we're destined to be together _romantically,"_ he said like a blushing school boy, "we will be. But if we're not," he said with certainty, "we're not. And that's okay. I want my friend and my sister that I have in you."

Maura glanced down at the table, knowing that he didn't realise the accuracy of those last words.

"So, maybe," he proposed, "could we go back to that?" His eyebrows rose a little in honest question.

Maura nodded. "I would really like that." She smiled, feeling quite relieved and incredibly thankful to have someone like Frankie in her life. He may have gotten carried away, but he truly cared so much and that was still something she was getting used to.

* * *

 **Alright then! So sorry that took so long to get up!**

 **I really hope you enjoyed this one shot, and appreciate every single one of you for reading it. I especially hope that** **neonsa13** **liked (but I'd love your honest opinion!)**

 **I genuinely love getting comments and feedback, so please, if you have anything to say feel free to let me know. Also, if you've got a prompt, I'd love to give it a go.**

 **Hope you are all very happy and well. Feel free to message me anytime about anything, either on here, on Tumblr by the same username or at rizzoliandislesformiles.**

 **Thank you again and take care.**


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